Key guard



Aug 2s, i923; 1,466,395 v c. F. i-'owL-IQl l KEY GUARD Filed March 15) 1922 Dfi/Cm as: IJ Oberst.

Patented Ang. Z8, lgZB..

terrasse CLAUDE r. FOWLEB., or'BUrrALo, NnWVYonK.

KEY GUARD.

Application filed March 13, 1922. Serial'No. 543,184.

To allwzomz'mayconcera: l

Be it known that I, Chinon F.' Fownnn, a citizen of the lUnited States, residing at Bulialo, in the county ot Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Key Guards', of which the following; is a speeiiication.

My invention relates tofa key guard or fastener, and it'has for its vobject the provision of a lguard which can be attached to any Ordinary door withoutf boring* holesfor otherwiseproviding special means on or in the door for fastening; the' guard thereto. Another object of my invention is the provision of a key guard which can be applied to the ordinary escutcheon at the innerside of'a door, and which will so .tasten a key that it cannot be turned within the key hole of the door `to bring the barb thereof in line with the elongated lower portion of the keyhole, which would'permit ther key vto be forced from the key hole from the outside of thev door and allowa duplicate or skeleton key,- or a lock-picking' tool to vbe inserted into the key hole tor unlocking the lock. l

A "further object of my invention is the provision of a guard for the purpose stated, whichV is ot simpleA construction, compara-V tively inexpensivei and which can be retained on a door, or carried onV ones vperson for convenience when traveling and' it is desired to have the protection this guard will turnish'tor sleeping quartersv in Yhotels and other places. Y The invention consists inthe novel -features otv construction and in the arrangement and combination of parts to behereinafter described andlinore particularly pointedv out in the subjoined claires.

In the drawings Fig.. 1 is elevation a portion. of a door having iny improved guard applied to the escutcheon at one side thereof.' Fig. 2 is a section taken on line 9 2, Final." v y.

Fig. 3 is a detached perspective view of the'.guardviewed from the. lront.

Fig.' Llisa detached perspeetiveview of theguard' viewed from the rear.. f

Figea .is ahorizontal section takenon line 5-45, Fig'. l.V

Figl lis a .rear of' the guard.' Y

f .Referring to the l.dra-wine;jinrdetail, the numeral. (l designates the door', mortised as view of.' the 'upper portion at 7, to receive the usual lock 8, shown'i'n Figs. 2 and 5, the locking mechanism within i thel ek-easing` being, however; omitted.

Qpposite walls et this lockhave alined keyopenings 9, and the door at opposite sides of 'the lock-receivingv `Inortise is provided with key openings l0. l

:As is the custom, each side ot'thel door. has an escuteheon 1l applied tl'1ereto,.and these eseutcheons have. key openings 12 alined with t-he keyv openings 9 and l0.` rIheseveralfkey openings inthe parts referredl to may be said to constitute the key hole oi" the door in which a key l'is to be inserted either from the inner side. A

In the dra wing I have shown the key in serted into the key hole 'from the inner side ofr the Vdoo'r and the` removal thereof from the outer side is to be prevented by inyiinproved guard, to beA presently described. The key is shown positioned with its barb 14 at right. angles to the length ot thekey hole, or in a horizontal position; and there- Atore withdrawal. oi. the key cannot take place until it is given aV one-quarterturn either to therightfor lett to brine` the barb into vertical or depending-position in line with the lower portions oi the key openinis 9. /10 andl 1l formed, respectively, inthe lock, door and escutcheon.v

/Keys ot' thetype shown are usually pro.h

lvided with'lat Shanks l. and my improve-'l guardis adaptedftor use in connection with a key havingsuch a s'hanlr.- The guard inouter side of t-hedoor or the y cludes a key-engaging member in the term of a flat plate 16 tapered at opposite ends. but ity desired. the plate fmay be given any other formation; This plate is provided with va kevfslot 1i@ which is arranged transversely near the upper end thereof and i'opensfat-one edgeo't the plate,-as at 18. Vrlheouter portion ofthe. plate is narrowed to form ashonlder orkey stop 19'; and the plate'is provided with f inwardl-y-directed `lip 2 0 fatthe inner end .ot

the key-slotjlT. l f f vArranged centra-livin the plate' beneath the key-slot .i7 is a vertically-.disposed onen'- ingr` 21 lwhich vis'.slightly enlarged down wardly .from its .upper end; This opening is adapted tovbre alin'edavith the opening l2 .in

the es'e'utch'eo'n atthe inner sijde' ot the door. 22 designates agnarrow .retainer member ik termed votra strip of; :metal applied tof the outer fge *of the plate i6 and having its i upper end bent inwardly through the opening 21 iiik said plate, as at 23, and thence downwardly, as at 24, to form a hook, the downwardly-bent portion being spaced from they rear surface of the plate a distance a-V plate 16, the head ofthe thumb screw being` adapted to engage the outer surface of the retainer member in any position it may be Y placed. Y

The plate 16 is provided oniits inner side at the bottom of the vertical opening 21- with 'two inwardly extending ears 28. These ears lie on opposite sides of the hook portion at Y the upper end of the retainer member 22 or,

in other words, at opposite sides ofthe opening 21.

The plate 1G is provided on its inner surface, between the key slot 17 and the opening 20, with an inward projection 29 providing beveled surfaces 31 at the opposite sides of a downwardly inclined ridge 32 eX- tending from the key slot 17 to the upper end of the opening 21, the beveled surfaces at opposite sides ofthe ridge 32 tapering downwardly from said slotto a point common to'both and to the ridge 32. i

wWhen applying the guard to a door it is simply necessary to position the key so that the shank will be horizontal. The guard is then placed over the shank of the key by sliding it sidewise to enter the shank iii thel key slot 17. This may be done while having 7 the guard positioned a slight distance from the escutcheon at the inner side of the door. The retainer member 22 is thenelevated on the plate 1G, if not already elevated, and the guard moved toward the escutcheon to enter the hook portion at the upper end of said retainer member through the key opening 11 in said escutcheon. By then lowering the yretainer member 22 the hook portion 24 will engage behind the escutcheon, as shown in Fig. 2, and when the thumb nut27 is tightened Vthe liookshaped upper end of the retainer member will be firmly clamped to said escutcheon, Ywith the result that the entire guard will be retained in position on the door. Y 4 Y,

It is to be noted that the opening 21 in the plate 16 wil-l be aline'd with the key hole in the door, with'the result thatany tool or object forcedj'through the key hole will also pass through the opening 21, making it prac- 'tical'ly impossible tol force the guard from Vthe escutcheon, with a view of disengaging it from the key. Y

y It is also to be noted that the ears 28.at opposite sides of the hook-shaped upper end of the retainer member serve to prevent a T tool being workedunderneath the inwardly bent portion 23 of said'retainer member, with a view of forcing the saine upwardly and disengaging the guard from the escutclieon. The inwardly-directed lip 20 also fri' 'i view of forcing the key guard laterally to l loosen the hold of the retainermember from the escutcheon. Y

The inward projection 29, or ridge Yas it may be termed, provides inclined surfaces. which practically occupy aY space at least equalingthe full width of the key hole in the lock and therefore any .attemptto insert a tool., nail, or other article through the key:V hole of the door with a viewof placing the end thereof against the guard. and hammering or otherwise forcing the guard from the escutcheon, will beV prevented, since such a tool would be caused tov slide down theiin'# n clined ridge 32 of the inclined surface 81 at Having thus described my iiivention-7 what I claim is i 1. A keygua-rd comprising` a flat key-en member having` a key slot extending inwardly from one edge and a shoulder in said key slot between which and the inner end of said slot the shank of a key is adapted to be retained, and means on said key`enga-ging member lfor connection with the escutcheon of a door for retaining said keyengaging member in engagementV with the shank of a key in the door. 4 f

2. A key .guard comprising an elongated key-engaging member having an opening therein, a retainer member vertically adjustable on said keyengaging inemberand having a hook-portion' extending through said opening and adapted Vfor engagement with the\escutcheon of a door at the lower end of thezkeysopening therein.

iisV

3. A key guard comprising a key-,engag- Y ing member inthe form of -a plate rhaving a transverse key slot'and an opening in said key-engaging member beneath said keyY slot,

and a retainer member applied to theouter side of said key-engagingmember and having a hook portion extending through said open# ing and adapted to engage the escutcheon ilao v of a door at the lower end ot the key opening therein.

4t. A key guard comprising an elongated member having a transverse key slot therein and a vertically-disposed opening spaced from said key slot, a vertically-disposed re- `tainer member' having a slot therein, a hook receive the shank of a key in a door, an'

tween said inwardly-bent ears at the lower end of said opening.

6. A key guard comprising anl elongated plate having a transverse key slot opening at one edge thereof and provided with a narrowed outer end forming a shoulder in opposition to the inner end wall ot said key slot and an inwardly-directed lio at the inner end ot said key slot, and means for retaining said plate on a door with the shank of a key positioned between the inner end ot said key slot and the shoulder therein.

7. A key guard comprising an elongated plate having a transverse key slot opening at one edge thereof, a vertically-disposed opening beneath said key slot adapted to be alined with a key .opening in the eseutcheon of a door and an inward projection on the inner side of said plate between said opening and key slot having an inclined surface, and a retainer member on said plate having a hook-shaped end extending through said opening.

S. A key guard comprising an elongated plate having a transverse-key slot opening at one edge thereof, a vertically-disposed opening beneath said key slot adapted to be alined with a key opening in the escutcheon oi a door and an inward projection on the inner side of said plate between said opening and/key slot having inclined surfaces,

and means for attaching said elongated plate f to a. door. Y

9. A key guard comprisingan elongated plateh'aving a transverse key slot opening vat one edge thereof, a vertically#disposed opening beneath said key slot adapted to be alined with a key opening in the escutcheon ot' a door and an inward projcctionon the inner side oit said plate extending 'trom said key slot to said opening and having a down*- wardly inclined ridge and opposite inclined surfaces tapered to a 4common point, and

means adjustable on said elongated'platel for retaining said plate on the door.

l0. A key guard comprising an elongated plate having a transverse key slot opening at one edge of said plate and an opening beneathsaid key slot adapted to'be alined with the key opening in an escutcheon o't a door, tool dei'lectingmeans Von `said plate between said slot and said opening, and means adjustable on said plate'for detachably Vengaging'said escutcheon. Y

11. A key guard comprising a key engaging member having an opening therein, a retainer member provided with a hook extending through Vsaid opening and adapted to engage anjescutcheon of a door at the lower end of the key'opening therein, and means on said plate to prevent the insertion ot a tool underneath said hook from tlnvouterV side of the door.

In testimony whereof I aiiixY my signature,

c CLAUDE F. FUWLER. 

